I'm not a pro chef, so I technically do not belong here. I am, however, somewhat of a "domestic goddess" and might be able to help...

It largely depends on what is ON your chef's jacket. For instance, if it's got blood on it (hopefully from meat, and not your fingers), it needs to be washed in COLD water, since hot water will SET THE STAIN.

Many other stains can only be removed with HOT water (check the care label, first... you may experience shrinkage).

When in doubt, I always go with a cold water wash first. Most protein stains will be made permanent by hot water (basically, cooks the stuff into the fabric).

Do not put the jacket into the dryer until you're satisfied that you've done all you can to remove or minimize the stains. The dry heat of the dryer will simply bake the proteins into the fabric fibers and you'll be stuck with them for life.

As far as laundry products go, you need a very good quality detergent with enzymes, especially since I'm guessing the majority of your stains are going to be food-based (Tide is one of the best-rated, but any major brand will probably do fine).

You may or may not need chlorine bleach (e.g., Clorox).

A product like Oxi-Clean will actually work better than chlorine bleach on certain stains.

White distilled vinegar can work wonders on many food-based stains.

Some stains are virtually impossible to remove. Good luck with turmeric (especially from prepared yellow mustard) or red chiles in oil... even chocolate can be a real b**ch...

What kinds of things are you usually finding on the jacket?

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.-M.F.K. Fisher

DUDE! You gotta try Shout Ultra Gel !!!! no joke....I had Beet juice spattered on different parts of my coat this past week. Shout got each and every spot out!

It comes in a small bottle with a brush on the top. you squeeze some of the gel onto the brush and just scrub it in for a few moments. let it sit for like 5 minutes and throw it in with your laundry. That's all.

It has worked everytime for me! I mean...c'mon...BEETS FOR HEAVENS' SAKE! IT ACTUALLY GOT BEETS OUT OF A FRESH WHITE COAT! AND i DON'T MEAN THAT THERE WERE A FEW SPOT LEFT, OR THAT THE SPOTS WERE LIGHTER IN COLOR....i LITERALLY MEAN THAT i COULD NOT TELL WHERE THE SPOTS USED TO BE! g'luck!

Thanks for the tips! Especially the cold water tip as I have been using hot with crappy results. As for what kind of stains. By the end of the day its usually a mishmash of every color in a rainbow only not as pretty.

I throw it in the washer with whatever detergent I have and add some BIZ to it. May need to be run again, but usually gets my jackets white enough for me to work with. Then finish up in the dryer to get rid of the wrinkles.

If I really need a super clean jacket for a special occasion, I will bleach for about 24 hours and thencontinue as normal.

Dry Cleaning

I find if I have a moment to breath the last thing I want to do is wash Chef coats.. Dry cleaning is the best for me, coats come back clean and pressed. I can drop them off in the morning and pick them up the same day or next week. To me its worth the money.:smoking:

First off, let me state that no one is ever going to confuse me with a domestic goddess, but this works for me- Lestoil. You know that smelly stuff that your grandmother used? Either put it directly on the stain straight from the bottle or dilute some in a spray bottle and spray the stain directly.

It's the only thing that works in the hard water I have at my house. Works every time and is especially good on grease stains.

I agree that dry cleaning and pressing is best, but I'm at least 15 miles from any cleaner. If I got them there, they'd be there for months. With the tablecloths I keep forgetting to pick up....:crazy:

I'm not a pro. Yet. I do get pro dirty in school though. And we have regular inspections. We are not allowed the slightest stain on the jacket, the apron, or the side towels. I keep a bucket in my utility tub at home full of water and oxy clean. When I get home everything with a stain on it goes into the bucket. It then stays there until laundry day, which is Friday. I have the whitest gear in my class.

Best recommendation I had from here, I think, was to soak dirty jackets in a solution of dishwasher cleaner, not fabric cleaner - the powder/liquid you put in your dishwashing machine. Gets food stains out much more efficiently than washing powder I find.
Bleaching won't make your cottons/polyesters white, they go yellowish. I use a 're-whiten your whites' powder sold in the washing powder aisles which makes them shiny white.
And ironing them while still slightly damp gets creases out too.

I have used dawn in HOT water with bleach...i have NEVER cared what the label said...And i have never had yellow stains (You gotta dilute the bleach with water tho)
When you use dawn...(to the one with the big soapy mess..LOL) you can't use alot ( i have had BIG ***** soapy messes in my day) it really does take the grease out, for me anyway.
One thing i found with oxi-clean is that if its not in SMOKING hot water, my results weren't great.
When i get home at night i dab stain stick on the bad spots and wash as stated above...never had issues, always had white chef coats!
GL

Do what you do with passion....the rest will fall into place..Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. ~Rev. RunOur Lives are not in the laps of gods, but in the laps of our cooks. ~Lin Yutang

Do what you do with passion....the rest will fall into place..Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. ~Rev. RunOur Lives are not in the laps of gods, but in the laps of our cooks. ~Lin Yutang

If you ever get carbon stains from dropping stock, NEVER put it in the dryer. It'll just bake the carbon stains on. Good luck on getting them out. I usually soak my coats in oxyclean overnight, then wash. That usually does it for me.

Keeping chef Jacket white

when chef jacket is new, start with a liquid starch for pressing. the liquid starch will act like scotch gaurd. before laundry day spray with any stain remover, wash as normal. but always with the liquid starch and iron after.
p.s. tilex is always good in a pinch.

i have the worst stain EVER! on my jacket :( carbon. pitch black, super fine carbon. you know the stuff you find on the side of the pot when your flames are burning yellow. anyway, this is one's persistant. it wont budge. i've bleached, washed & soaked, you name it... it's still there. if there is anyone here who knows how to remove it successfully, please share the love. if it works, i will personally bake you the MEANEST chocolate sponge cake ever, fill it with any filling of your choice, cover it in chocolate and fedex it to your door step.

I'm working the Philadelphia Flower Show All-Star Cooking Demos 2009

I have been doing the Flower Show since 2003 and I enjoy working with some of the best Chef's in the City of "Brotherly Love" lol . Since AI has a new logo this year I am required to wear their jacket as they do Sponsor it every year . And If you have the time or in the the area. It is Definitely worth taking the time to stop by. The theme this year is " Italian " I haven't seen to much of the show but I've heard good things, especially with the purchases of Fresh Italian herbs and such . Well any way back to the poit
I'm using the shout as we speak but what do I wash w/cold water, warm or hot ?
I know not to dry until I'm satisfied w/ results .By the way it is the First wash of my Arts Institute Chef's Jacket. and need it for 9am 3/3/09 as I have no viable back-up b/c my Jackets do not have the AI Logo
I'll let you know how it turns out w/ warm water, shout, and Dymno, yes I said " dynmo" It's all I can afford at the moment and it is what is but I have Fabric Softner Lavender which I am going to add also. and see how it turns out.
Dominic

Honestly, I've given up laundry service all the way..for personal jackets I use a soak method high content bleach and oxy clean in cold water for as long as i can and then a hot wash with bleach and then a hang dry.....
But really a jacket is 12 bucks for a piece of junk plastic button.
I keep two or three fancy "meet the customer deals in the office" and buy a couple cheap ones every now and again.
There is probably a corner in the dump labeled Chef seans discarded jackets but really do any professionals have time to deal with a stain?